Type collections from Africa

The type collection from Africa embodies nearly 10,000 specimens. The majority, almost 6150, are types from South Africa. The second largest type collection is from Ethiopia with nearly 800 types. Other important type collections from African countries are Cameroon with 620 types; Tanzania (530); Kenya with 240 types, and Madagascar with 235 types (approximate numbers).

Number of type specimens per African country deposited in S. Only countries with more than 100 types are shown.

There are types of almost 8000 species, belonging to nearly 1700 genera and 200 different families. The most representative families (in number of type specimens) among type collections from Africa are Asteraceae (980 types), Fabaceae (690), Poaceae (530), Ericaceae (460), Iridaceae (370), Rutaceae (800), Scrophulariaceae (290), and Orchidaceae (285).

Number of type specimens per family from the type collections of Africa. Only the ten families with the highest number of specimens are shown.

Number of type specimens per genera from the type collections of Africa. Only the ten genera with the highest number of specimens are shown.

There are types by more than 450 different collectors. The largest type collection from Africa is by Christian Ecklon and Karl Zeyher with nearly 2400 specimens, gathered in South Africa in the first half of 19th century. The second main collector among our type collections from Africa is Johann Drège with almost 1300 types also collected in South Africa more or less at the same period as Ecklon and Zeyher, as demontrated by Drége´s diaries, which frequently mentions the contemporary collectors. Other important collector (in number of specimens) in our type collections from Africa are Wilhelm Schimper with 780 types collected mainly in Ethiopia; Rudolf Schlechter with 715 types collected in South Africa, Mozambique
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Number of type specimens from Africa per collector. Only collectors with more than 150 types are shown.

Namibia
Georg Zenker (530), German botanist whit a important collection of types from Cameroon; and Carl Thunberg, possibly the first Swedish naturalist to explore South Africa with 320 types from there.